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WITCH HUNT

Chapter 1: An Honest Day's Work

Thursday, March 6, 11:30. Seattle, UCAS
It is unseasonably cold in Seattle for March. Winter has been late to remove itself from the Cascades. The nights are still regularly hovering around freezing; the days only a few degrees higher. The sun has yet to make an appearance this year, but the rain, it seems, has been coming down steadily for a month. The gloom tends to drive people a bit nuts. Even AR enthusiasts that keep their sunny virtual weather on 24/7 are affected. Suicides are up. But so are the sales of BTLs, alcohol, and escapist narcotics of all types.


You each receive a text message from Alfred Ancient, the Alpha coordinator in Seattle's Sons of Apollo:
<[Alfred] - The honor of your presence is requested Saturday, March 8, 19:30 at the Yellow Brick Road. Dress is business casual. Do not be late.>

"Business casual" means this invitation is a job offer, and he wants you to be inconspicuous.

Saturday, March 8, 19:00 - 19:30. The Yellow Brick Road, Seattle, UCAS
The Yellow Brick Road is gleaming in the misty night air. The rain-slicked pavement outside is shining yellow in its glow. The cars lining the street outside tell you that this place, like many bars lately, is packed. Traffic is light, and will probably remain that way until the bars and clubs close.
An impressively unattractive troll is standing outside the YBR, bundled up against the cold and smoking a cigarette. His horns are completely asymmetrical; the left one comes out of his head low, twisty, and rests against his ear; the right one is set high in his head, and shoots straight out 10 centimeters or so. His face is even worse. He would just be a particularly ugly troll were it not for the web of scar tissue on the left side of his face. The bouncer. He nods as you approach.

***

Inside the YBR, smoke hangs in the air. The bar is past full, and the bartenders are constantly in motion, earning their pay tonight. Drink order AROs flood the bar area. People lounge around drinking, stand around talking, and shoot virtual pool at the tables. A lone musician is here on the little stage in the corner, playing nostalgic sing alongs for the drunks. Through the smoke haze, at the back of the lounge, you recognize Greta, one of Alfred's bodyguard trolls and the smaller of the pair. She's a sharp one: clever, quick, but strong as an ox and just as tough.
Behind her, down the hall, standing outside the "back room", is Hans, a monster of a troll. A true mountain of flesh and bone. Even though they don't call him "the smart one", his physical prowess is tremendous. As soon as Greta is aware of your presence, Hans appears to straighten up and become more alert.

Orion stands on the street opposite to The Yellow Brick Road and sighs. The bus trip here was a mess and he narrowly avoided getting puked on by a drunk, it's raining constantly and he had to cancel with his best friend Genbu who was going to take Orion to this totally wicked new club. And for what? Orion doesn't know, but he is sure it will be something just as miserably as he feels right now.

Damn it Alfred! Why tonight of all nights? I want to go to someplace fun instead, or even home!

He recognizes this is not feelings he can afford to project while working. His fingers find his little green box and flicks it open, choosing a small inhaler wich will give him a more appropriate mood. He takes a deep breath...

Alert and interested, you need the money! And remember to smile.

Actually he instantly feels a lot better and, minding the traffic, run across to the bar and enters after giving the bouncer a recognizing nod. Inside he switches his PAN to passive and visually scans the crowd, soon finding Greta and Hans. Orion walks up to Greta and gives her a radiant smile.

"Evening beautiful, I'm not late am I?"

Greta rolls her eyes at Orion (quite a feat considering they're flat white), and inclines her head toward the back room.

@Malleus:

March 8th 19:00

Malleus parks his car as close as he can to the entrance and turns up the coller of his longcoat before stepping out into the rain.

Malleus is wearing a dressed down buissness suit (no tie, top button undone) with a longcoat overtop of it. The conservative black suit with dark grey pinstripes and the brown longcoat make him looks like any other cubical dweller out for a few drinks after a 12 hour shift. As he makes his way across the parking lot towards the troll, Malleus turns off his Transys Avalon and switches his Sony Emperor to passive mode.

"Hoi Face! Miserable night to be stuck out here."

The troll grunts "Tell me about it Mal, I've only been out in this shit for half an hour and I already can't feel my fingers"

Tell you what, I'll get Tinman to send a drink out here for you on my tab, help take the chill off."

Upon entering the bar Malleus looks around until he sees Tinman, he walks over to the bar, and gets his attention

"hey, busy night tonight. I'll take my usual and send a double rye out to Elfin-Face for me will ya? Poor bastard looks like he's about to freeze to the sidewalk.

Malleus nurses his 15 year old double scotch neat while watching the crowd. He's not looking for anything in particular, just getting a feel for the crowd and waiting for the booze to warm his blood up.
Crowd's thick tonight... Don't really recognize anyone though. Just as well, I'm here to work. Maby Kassandra will want to come by tomorrow once her shift is finished. Haven’t seen Mars in a while and I still owe him a round so maby the three of us should get together.

Once he sees Orion walk past Greta he finishes the last of his drink and weaves his way through the tables as if he knows the layout of the place better than his own house. He nodds slightly to Greta and Hans

"Good evening, I am supposed to be meeting Mr. Ancient in about five minutes"

Malleus:
You get his attention, and Tinman smiles when he sees you.
"Busiest weekend so far this year. How ya been, Mal. . . I'll send ol ugly somethin' out. Take 'er easy." Something on one of Tinman's many cyber replacements is clicking. You consider telling him, but he's busy and probably knows about it already. He sets down your drink, and an ARO for the bill pops up in your vision. Your quick service illicits some complaints from the bar crowd, which Tinman ignores.

***

Greta considers you with something a little nicer than her typical professional unpleasantness. Much closer to indifference. "You can go on back now if you like." Hans flattens himself against the wall to let you by.

(He does that for all four of you, not just Malleus)

High Rise leaves early to allow some time for a drink. It's not his typical kind of club, but he may as well enjoy it.

Although High Rise has been here for work before he hasn't made the effort to memorize the names of all the employees. He quickly checks the troll's public commlink for his name, but doesn't find a public page for him.

"Evening." he says as he walks past.

Inside he heads to the bar and waits his turn before ordering a simple 10 year-old brandy. He looks around for Mr. Ancient's bodyguards to see if he is here yet. Suprising it takes a few moments to spot the pair of trolls, but once he does he makes his way to the back room.

Malleus is ducking inside before High Rise is half way there. "Evening Greta, Hans."

When Malleus notices the waitress looking at him he takes a quick snapshot of her with his eyecam, saving the image to his datajack.

Hrm… wonder who she is. I’ll have to make a point of asking Tinman about her later.

Thursday, March 6, 11:30. Ballard - Oakwood Gold Apartments, Null's apartment, Seattle, UCAS

Null slowly pads around his living room with a towel wrapped around his whipcord-thin body, idly finishing his shave while browsing his commlink messages, humming along to Mozart as he does so.

Message 1:
<SPAM detected> delete.

Message 2:
<SPAM detected> delete.

Message 3:
<SPAM detected> delete.

Message 4:
<[Loogie] - Hey dude, UCNN was running a series on Voudoun, practically oozing with sympathy for those zombie-raising bastiches. "Only the bad ones do that, wah wah." I already sent them a tridmail bomb. Copied their advertisers if you want to send them a nastygram. Figure if we threaten boycott they'll think twice before running this kind of BS again.> save.

Message 4:
<PORN SPAM detected> (long pause)...delete.

Message 5:
<[Alfred] - The honor of your presence is requested Saturday, March 8, 19:30 at the Yellow Brick Road. Dress is business casual. Do not be late.> sender/Alfred autosave.

Suddenly Null is extremely attentive.

It's Alfred, and that means a job. Good, good, good. It's been too long. Too long since I've gotten to smite the enemies of humanity. Too long since I've gotten to bathe in the cleansing blood of my enemies.

A manic grin spreads across Null's face, as he develops a slight tic near his right eye. Fortunately he's using an electric razor, keeping him from cutting himself in his distracted state.

Saturday, March 8, 19:00. The Yellow Brick Road, Seattle, UCAS

Null nods to Elfin-Face as he enters the bar, one predator to another. His face momentarily puckers up in distaste as he enters, and his nostrils are assaulted by the noxious smoke. His next piece of 'ware will definitely be an internal air tank. Composing himself, he spots Greta and Hans. From a slight headshake from Greta, he surmises that he is just a tad bit early, so he gets a club soda from Tinman and awkwardly perches on one of the barstools for awhile, before seeing someone else heading back and hesitantly following him in.

"G-Greta. Hans." He nods stiffly at the two bodyguards as he walks past. Greta always makes him a bit nervous. At least she's not wearing anything too feminine tonight - that would really fluster him.

Saturday, March 8, 19:00 - 19:30. Back Room at the YBR, Seattle

In the YBR's back room, behind the door marked "Private", is a rectangular conference room table with seven chairs. Alfred Ancient sits at the head of the table, on the far side of the room. There is a large, durable looking briefcase on the table near him, as well as a cyberterminal that must be ten years old. A cord connects it to the wall. There are three pitchers of water and five glasses also on the table. The interior of the room has been painted with wireless signal blocking material, making that cyberterminal the only connection to the outside world. "Please, sit," Alfred says as you enter. He continues typing and clicking away at the cyberterminal until all four of you are inside and seated.

Alfred is a frail ghost of a man. He's so thin and bony that his suit hangs loose in places. What is left of his white hair is thin enough to be translucent, giving the illusion of a thin fog or halo hovering around his skull. His skin is dotted with liver spots. If he ever dies, you're sure he'd just crumble to dust. You know him as an intelligent, polite, but unforgiving man. A direct physical threat by him would be comical, but you know he wields a lot of power in the Sons of Apollo. His voice is surprisingly deep, gravelly, and he has to clear his throat a lot.

"Thank you all for arriving on time. I have a job to offer you, bringing an unregistered magician to justice. We've been solicited by two of our members who work for a Seattle software company to handle a sensitive Human Resources matter for them. They believe one of their coworkers is using magic at work to get ahead in their career, and they would rather the matter be dealt with quickly and quietly... without involving the authorities and getting into the long and very public situation that entails." Alfred clears his throat, and takes a drink of water. "Now, we routinely get complaints of this type, but these two have enough corroborating evidence to warrant an investigation. We want you to discover the identity of this rogue magician, if indeed there is one, and deliver him to us. Once he has been brought to justice, we can discuss looking in to his connections. You'll be paid 1000 each in advance, plus another 2000 each upon completion of the investigation. The Sons of Apollo will pay you the standard bounty for bringing an unregistered magician to justice, which you can divide amongst yourselves. If the operation is successful, a followup job is highly likely."

"I can tell by your expressions that you're still interested, yes? Very good. Please subscribe your commlinks to the node in the middle of the room." A 3-D Sons of Apollo icon of the Sun appears above the center of the table, with the word "Connect" blinking below it. Once you've all subscribed, Alfred clears his throat again. "Now then... the details: Our clients' names are Malcolm Jackson and Jessie Reynolds." Two faces appear before you in AR. Both human men, one caucasian (Jackson), the other Indian or Pakistani (Reynolds). "They work for Emergent Cryonics, a B rated corporation here in Seattle that's designing and prototyping consumer and industrial refrigeration. They're profitable, and hoping to get purchased by a larger entity, namely Aztechnology. Mr. Jackson is a circuit designer and the one who first noticed suspicious activity within his Function Pod, or whatever they're calling cube farms nowadays." He takes another drink of water. "He discreetly brought the matter to his manager's attention, Mr. Reynolds. They then called us. Mr. Reynolds has arranged for consultants to come on site and perform interviews, monitoring, and independent assessments of the 24 employees in his group. This, of course, is you. You find the mage, Reynolds fires them. Once the mage leaves the building, you bag them, and bring them back to us. An honest day's work. Questions?"

Orion enters the back room through the door and all the noise from the bar suddenly disappears. Either it's the walls or it's Alfreds presence, and Orion is pretty sure that the latter plays no small part. He walks softly to the table and chooses a middle seat at the left side of the table and sits down and smiles at Alfred.

"Hello Alfred, it's really good to see you again. How are you?"

Alfred absentmindedly gives the answers while working with his terminal, but Orion doesn't care he's not getting full attention - it's enough for him. He's just about to ask who else is invited when Malleus enters the room. Orion smiles at him - a known face! That's something at least. Shortly thereafter High Rise and Null enters, and Alfred begins to brief them.

***

After listening to Alfred present the case Orion feels righteous anger at the rouge mage daring to subtly corrupt those around at that workplace. The Alphas are doing a needed thing, and these unlicensed mages are the worst kind.

"What kind of evidence does Mr. Jackson and Mr. Reynolds have? You said it was more than enough to warrant an investigation."

Orion says this as he saves what information is available to his comlink for further review.

As Malleus enters the room he gives Alfred a polite nod and says:
Good evening sir, I trust you're doing well? Like with Orion Alfred also absently returns the greeting and waves towards the chair beside Orion before returning to his work.

Malleus extends his hand to Orion before pouring himself a glass of water.
Hello... Orion isn't it? We met at the rally outside Redmond back in December right? The one where 20 or 30 of us went to Dante's Inferno afterwards...

As the other members of the team file in Malleus extends his hand to them in turn.
Malleus, this is Orion. You look familiar but I can't place a name. After reciving an answer Pleased to meet you. I always enjoy working with other members of the Sons.

***

As Alfred gives his speech Malleus leans back in his chair and steeples his fingers under his chin. He takes a few sips of water during the briefing but otherwise remains silent.
Hrm... Sounds pretty straight forward. Hopefully this mage decides to come along quietly, I'd rather not kill anyone if I don't have to. Besides 8 or 9 thousand divided four ways is a lot better deal than splitting up 3 grand. Still better a dead mage and a small paycheque than a pissed off live one and no money. If only the dumb bastards would just get themselves registered we wouldn't have to get involved. Don't they realize that the registration is for their protection too?

As he downloads the information he waits for Orions question to be answered before asking.
I don't suppose we might be able to arrange a private meeting with the clients before meeting the rest of the employees at Emergent Cryonics? I'd like to get a feel for the nature of their suspicions and if there is anyone they would like us to pay praticular attention to. If Alfred's evidance isn't a smoking gun then he adds After all we can't discount the possibility that Mr. Jackson is simply playing a card in some wierd office politics game. I've heard of people going to extreme lengths to get a co-worker fired and manufacturing evidence is simply part of the game. Sometimes the best way to get to the heart of the matter is to question those who want it brought to light and I'd rather not inconviniance innocent people if I don't have to.

Null awkwardly mumbles his greetings, although he greets Alfred very respectfully. He sits back, listening intently (and, still new to his cybereyes, forgetting to blink for long intervals). He lets the others direct the questioning - this is not his area. His job will be to protect the others, to stay alert for danger, and to take point when it's time for the most dangerous part of the mission: taking the mage down.

Hmmm. These clients are our brethren, so they are trustworthy. But our vigilance sometimes leads to us jumping at shadows. Best to wait until we meet them, yes, yes. I hope there is one. I hope he doesn't come quietly. Still, best to pack stick-n-shock in one of my guns. Live specimens can yield valuable data.

Orion watches the short clip play, the invisible person moving around in the cubicle, and at the same time glances at the other people at the table. He has some idea of what Malleus is good at and the questioning will suit him well. He remembers meeting Null at a few rallies but he has really no clue as to what his speciality is. The last person at the table, the ork introduced as High Rise, is more or less an unknown to Orion. He looks cool though.

It'll be good getting to know these people, I have a good feeling about them. Null looks a bit eerie though, can't really put my finger on why but... I wonder what they're specialities are? Doh, focus on the work now Orion!. Hmm, it could be someone not working there who just pops by once in a while trying to steal things or vandalize property but the fact that he knew about the drawer speaks against it. I wonder if they have taken any action against the owner of this cubicle, searching for whatever the invisible person planted... or stole. But... nah, a mage using his magic to get ahead, just to steal things and do petty evil? No, it has to be a grander scheme of his...

He works his comlink and takes time to clear his personal schedule for this at the same time as Alfred distributes the contact information for their meet with their clients on monday. Without really thinking he speaks again:

"Well, most things I wonder right now our clients will be better suited to answer..."

Orion blushes as he realises he's forgotten the rest of the team might have more intelligent questions then he has and leans back in his chair, leaving the room to the more experienced people.

Malleus watches the footage play
"Well it looks real enough, but I'm no hacker. You said that our people had examined it and found no evidance of fraud? If possible I might like to speak with, or at least get the email address of the hacker that examined it. Not that I don't trust him, I'd just like to go into the investigation with a better understanding of the evidance than I have now. I know my way around a comlink, but editing suites are a bit beyond my abilities.

The offered pay seems more than sufficant for the job. I doubt the invstigation itself will take more than a day or two and provided we catch the mage by surprise, subduing him should be relatively easy. I trust everyone has access to non-lethal weapons? I have no further questions and I'm loath to waste your time sir but might it be possible for us to use the room for a while? I'd like the oppertunity to get to know everyone and decide how we should best approach the meet and later investigation.

Malleus then waits until Alfred stands to leave, at which point he rises as well, shakes his hand and escorts him to the door. Once again sir, I would like to thank you for your time and the job oppertunity. I'll do my best to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

Alfred nods to Malleus. "Yes, I can arrange for you to correspond with him. He goes by the handle "Fische", with a 'c-h-e'." Alfred clears his throat again, and takes a drink of water. "Here is his business commcode. I'll tell him to expect to hear from you." The info is uploaded to Malleus.
"So you accept, then; good." An AR pop up notifies each of you that 1000 has been deposited in your usual business account. There is one more thing: I have a gift for you." Alfred smiles, stands up (with some difficulty), and opens the briefcase that was sitting on the table. "Well... consider it a loan, anyway."

Inside the case are four black hoods that look like sexual bondage gear. They come complete with gags, sealed up eyes, and a trode net. There are reinforced straps in several places for a tight fit.

"I hope you like them..."

High Rise enters the room quietly, nodding to the greetings. The room's security measures has always made him nervous. These are friends though, so there isn't anything to worry about.

The job seems like a simple pick-up. We just need to make sure we're picking up the right guy. Assuming they have in house security systems it should be pretty easy to track his movements and see if he is related to any of the wierdness.

After seeing the video he finally speaks up. "I'd like to examine that myself if you don't mind."[/cyan] [color=darkkhaki]Just for a second opinion.

When the briefcase is opened a look of familiarity crosses HR's face. The hoods are effective, there isn't much a mage can do to you when he can't see you and what he can do he is too distracted by the trode input to be able to pull off. Effectively a geeked mage without so much blood. What program is it this time? Another re-release of Bambi? or the other Bambi? Either one can really affect concentration.

Orion continues to listen in silence and doesn't even grab one of the hoods for inspection as they are presented by Alfred, even though he's severely tempted.

These guys are smooth, professionals. Just look at Malleus, I wish I could have his presence in a club... and he speaks well too. And Null and High Rise too. Can't wait to hear what we all can contribute to this job, and then maybe I don't have to evict squatters next month to be able to afford an evening downtown.

@ High Rise:
Alfred nods to you with regard to the video, and makes it available for download on the room network.

Mr. Ancient looks pleased. "Good. You'll meet Mr. Reynolds Monday morning at 7 AM. Just arrive at the office, and tell the receptionist you're from Oracle Consulting and Jessie Reynolds is expecting you. That will give you some time to talk before most of the employees arrive at 9. And please. . . " he pauses, eyeing some of your garb, "look the part."

Alfred Ancient takes a last look at the cyberterminal before walking to the door, pausing to shake Malleus's offered hand and exchange parting words. The door opens and Hans is there, waiting to escort his charge out of the Yellow Brick Road.

"The room is yours, gentlemen. Good luck, and good hunting."

The time is now 20:00.

After Malleus shuts the door behind Alfred he turns around and surveys the table. Well gentlemen I suppose the first thing we should do is determine what exactly our specialties are. I expect that Alfred brought me in to head up the interview process as I'm not terribly good in a fight but I always have been good at talking to people. At any rate, I belive a celibratory drink is an order, what does everyone prefer?

Malleus leaves the room after reciving everyone's drink requests. He makes his way back to the bar and gets Tinman's attention.

Hey, I'll get another of my usual plus one of those nice belgian beers you keep under the counter. Malleus places the other drink orders and hits accept on the price after adding a 20% tip. He snaggs a nearby tray and returns to the room.

After everyone has had the chance to thank Malleus for his generous gesture and Orion has had a chance to taste his beer, he rises from his chair.

"Thanks a lot for the drink Malleus! And your other idea was good too, so I'll start and listen to you before we plan this thing. I have a good ear and a keen nose and I have a few friends at home - my dogs - that are great for tracking runaways. Good for intimidation too. I'm a decent shot but I haven't been able to afford all the mods I like yet, I just have had some basic wires drawn. But I won't cover in a fight just because I'm young, I've been in firefights before..."

Orion hesitates as he comes to think of that maybe he doesn't have to prove himself to these people - he's been picked by Alfred after all, they all have.

"Ehh... anyway, I'd love to hear about the rest of you and then we can start planning how we are to find this guy. We're not going to trust him to start sweating when we ask him if he's an unregistered mage I presume."

Orion sits and grabs his beer again, savouring it while the others talk.

After hearing the others introduce their specialties Malleus looks around the table

"I'm thinking that we should keep the initial meet small. Probably myself and one other person who feels comfertable talking. Too many people showing up might intimidate the clients and lets face it, some of you look rather intimidating. High Rise I'd like you offstage keeping an eye on things with your drones and scanning the matrix for anything it has on suspicious sounding employees. It might be good to keep Null in reserve too as a nasty surprise for once it comes time to subdue the mage. I'm no tactitian though so if you folks have any other ideas I'm more than open to them.

Orion listens to the rest of the group introducing themselves while finishing his drink.

It looks like Alfred has managed to find diverse skills, it looks pretty good. Good beer, this... I'll have to remember the label. I wouldn't have tried this myself, that's for sure.

He clears his throat and speaks to the team:

"There's a lot of things we don't know yet but the meet on monday will hopefully clear things up, and we might get acess to employee records and such that can help us. But I'm still thinking about how to spot the mage in the first place. We can try to flush him out, announcing loudly we are to test everyone for magical potential and see who runs. Or we can hope we find him just interviewing. I've heard the Sons have a surefire way of testing, but walking everyone off to our facilities is out of the question. Still, we have a chance to 'nap one if we're not sure - one person getting robbed and roughed up in a workplace happens.

Other then that, I'm not sure. You have ideas? I've mostly been involved in tracking already known mages. We can hope that they have surveilance everywhere otherwise we can set things up before employees arrive. When word starts get around about interviews our target might decide to check it out astrally. A few cameras could spot anyone looking like they were napping... do you have sensors High Rise?"

(insert above imperialus)

High Rise orders his drink and thanks Malius. "Well, I break into security systems mostly and keep an eye on people I suspect are awakened. I also have a couple drones for when I need them."

He takes another drink al lets the others start brainstorming.

(after Imperialus' post)
"Depending on their building I might need to be close by. If they have wireless dampening walls I'll probably need to be jacked into their systems to reach the outside. And I do have a couple of camera drones that can keep watch wherever you need them. Right now we have a lot of variables that we need to clear up. It seems like before we decide much of anything we'll need to talk to this Reynolds guy."

(insert above Imperialus' post)

Null stands up, a bit hesitantly, his unblinking cyban eyes darting around uncomfortably.

"Eh, heh. I guess you could call me the hands-on guy. I'm the one who goes head to head with the mages and their otherplanar allies. I am... modified... to be more effective. Extensively modified, yes. I'm the one who usually takes point in hostile territory, uh, but, sometimes I am kept back to guard others. Keep the nasties away, yes, yes. I do have some non-lethal weapons, since live specimens can be useful for disection and study. We might even be able to cure it, although if it has already started to abuse its powers, it may be too late."

A hesitant grin twitches across his face as he looks around, then he awkwardly sits down again.



(insert after Imperialus' post)

"Yes, I can be the one who takes the creature down, for the glory of the Sons. But will you be all right by yourselves? Mages may have to worry about being too obvious, but they have subtle powers, and they can also be dangerous if they are cornered. Keep me in reserve, yes, but close by, perhaps?"

"Ok then, it looks like we have the beginnings of a plan. High Rise why don't you get in touch with Fische and see what you can figure out about that video. I'll see what I can't dig up on the company itself. Null why don't you scout out the office itself, decide where we should park, where we should snag the mage, and our escape route. Orion if you are coming to the meeting with me you'll need a suit but I'm not sure I have any that will fit you. Your shoulders are quite a bit wider than mine and I've got at least 4 inches on you height wise so if it isn't too inconvenient why don't we meet up tomorrow at 9 or 10, I'll take you to my tailor and we'll see about getting you a decent suit, unless of course you already own one.

Malleus pauses and drains his glass. "Unless there is anything else we've overlooked I propose we call it an evening. The night is young, and the bar is calling me.

As the meeting begins to break up. Malleus pulls up a map of the area surrounding Emergent Cryonics and finds a nearby 24 hour diner.
"Well gentlemen, I wish you all a safe trip home, I'll be sure to keep in touch before the meet. There is a diner named "Soy'n Go" a few blocks from the office. We should meet there say... five thirty Monday morning for breakfast. give us a chance to touch base and make sure we're all on the same page.

Null nods raptly, happy to have orders from someone, something concrete and specific to do.

"Good, good," he thinks to himself. "Tonight, I will pull up the building plans, the basic company information, and a map of the surroundings. Then tomorrow... early!... I can go in person, get the lay of the land. Sun Tzu said it, he said 'Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.' Plan where to hit the target, the best route out. And parking! Will they validate the parking? I must know!"

"That's what I was thinking. It would be bad PR to apprehend someone who just got on the bad side of a co-worker with deep pockets." High Rise downloads the video into his commlink with a few AR commands. I just hope it's real, I need to pickup a new autosoft for Alfred.

"I'll see you monday" Says the orc as he heads out the door. He heads to his van, happy to be in contact with civilization again, he contacts Alfred. <Anything interesting happen while I was gone?> While he may be smarter than the average Lynx the response still lists any MAD readings near the van larger than a golf ball (thus anyone with a commlink or cyberware that walked by) and a few vehicle noises not already in his database. <I'm going to have to update your defenition of "interesting">

Saturday, March 8. 20:15, YBR

Malleus (and Orion?)
The Yellow Brick Road has settled a bit in the lull between Saturday worker ants and the night owls coming in out of the cold. The bar is full, but not overflowing; there are several empty tables, and you don't need a sound filter to have a conversation.


Saturday, March 8. 20:15 - 21:00
Null
The unease you felt inside the YBR evaporates as soon as you step into the damp, chilly street. It feels good to have something to obsess over. On the way back to your condo in Ballard, you try to visualize the punk mage you're after. He ends up being a smug, silver haired elf with piercings. By the time you get home, you've lost your focus, and your heart is racing. You're going to need to do some serious centering.

Saturday, March 8. 20:15 - 21:00
High Rise
You feel like driving manual on the way home. You'd like to keep your reflexes sharp for next weeks' job. Although it's raining, cold, and the roads are slick, the drive home turns out to be less interesting than you thought. Your mind wanders to the invisible mage video, so you pull it up off to the side of your vision, just to look it over. There's the timestamp, 12:38 - 02/26/70. Some people walking by. Twenty seconds or so pass without any action. . . you peer around the frame for any clues. . . in a few seconds the electronic paper should float. You stare at the spot where it'll appear, and - HOLY SHIT!
You slam on the brakes. Some animal just ran across the road! It was a dog or something. . . your collision sensors should've picked that up, but. . . well, it's gone now.

Malleus slides into a bar stool near Tinman and gestures for another round for himself and Orion.

"Say Tinman, that new waitress overe there, havn't seen her before. What's her name?"

Malleus sticks around the YBR for several more hours, getting good and buzzed. If Tinman appears willing to talk about the new waitress Malleus will subtlely try and find out as much about her as he can. Malleus calls it a night at around midnight at which point he heads home and watches the late night news before heading to bed. He'll give Orion a ride home if he stays that late and wants the ride.

Saturday, March 8. 20:15, YBR

Orion stays a while at the Yellow Brick Road after the meet is over. It's not the kind of place he likes to frequent, but the people are friendly and Malleus is a likeable person.

At one point, when Malleus heads over to the bar for some drinks Orion suddenly feels a surge of compassion and amity. He looks around bevildered, discreetly sniffs the air in the place only to get a reading about the above normal alcohol content. He shakes his head to clear it and as soon as Malleus returns with their drinks he has forgotten the episode.

What was meant to be just a short while turns into a nice evening and Orion doesn't even need to adjust his mood in this place. Around midnight Malleus is going home and offers Orion a ride. Orion is tempted to continue the night downtown but a ride home would spare him a lot of trouble on the public transportation and besides, he will be working tomorrow. He accepts.

Home at last, Orion closes the door behind him and the lights turn on.
"Hey, are you awake? Ares? Artemis? Hermes?"
Soon three large dogs come from the other room and greets him happily, wagging their tails.
"Hehe, missed me have you? Well I've missed you too... hey guys, we have a job! Maybe I can't bring you, but it'll be good for us nonetheless. Come here.."
Orion makes sure there's food and water for his animals before heading to bed. He allows his dogs to join him this time and soon they are all sleeping soundly together.

Tinman leans in to Malleus. "The cute elf? Ahh. Yeah, her name's Charity. She's been here about a week. Good for business, that one. Young, hot, and sweet as sugar. Fine waitress, too. She goes to Seattle U, but I don't remember what her major is. She's dating some yuppie kid named Tom. Don't know anything about him. You want an introduction or somethng?"

Mal catches Charity looking at him again.

Saturday, March 8. 21:00 - Sunday, March 9. 08:00

As he enters his apartment, Null is muttering to himself in agitation, and he is feeling the beginnings of a headache. He massages his temples as his jerking steps carry him into his bedroom, where he changes into a dull grey sweatsuit. Exiting the room, he starts doing Aikido kata, a bit wildly at first, but eventually more controlled, as the discipline of the form begins to help him master his emotions. He works up a good sweat, then relaxes and plugs into his favorite VR game, Magehunter. The graphics and gameplay aren't quite as good as the other two, but the choice of target is what makes it appeal to him. Not the real thing, of course, but close enough to soothe the rest of his upset away.

When he finally gets to his research, it is almost disappointingly easy. He's not looking for any secret, or even esoteric, information, after all. So it seems almost no time at all, maybe fifteen minutes or so (and a hacker probably could have done it in fifteen seconds), before he is done. He knows what the company does (he could have done without the chirpy guidbot spewing corporate slogans, but oh well), has a printout of the basic building plans (minus security, etc.), and is humming tunelessly as he pores over real-time satelite feeds of the area around their building, pondering ambush sites and escape routes. And it turns out they only validate parking for big VIPs, but there is a reasonable parking garage adjacent to the office, which many of the employees probably use.

It is 11:15 before he finally gets to bed, early for many but actually pretty late for him. He sets the alarm for 5:30, and falls asleep to pleasant dreams. He doesn't remember them too well when he wakes up, only that they involved evisceration, which is always a good thing. Dressing in comfortable business casual clothing, he sets out to meticulously walk through the surrounding areas, picking both an escape route and several ambush sites. He noted a hole-in-the wall coffee shop in the area during the previous night's research - if someone asks questions, he will tell them he is trying to find it.

Maleus shrugs to Tinman "Naw, I wouldn't worry about it, it's probably nothing. Just noticed her looking at me when I went to the buisness meeting in back."

Tinman replies, "Ah. Yeah... she's new, but she should've known better than that. I'll tell the owner about it. Oh, well. It's a shame to have to let her go so soon. "

Null:
Results from your Data Search (yielding only the most basic data) and visit to the site in person:

Emergent Cryonics

You're able to find the company's public Matrix site, which doesn't really net you any useful information you didn't already have. You learn the names of some of their products, including the fact that they actually make a component inside your refrigerator.

Emergent Cryonics is leasing office space in a business park in a nice part of Seattle proper. It occupies floors 4-7 in a seven story building called "the Horizon". It shares the building with Emerald City Bancorp, some local mortgage brokers.
The business park is made up of ten individual office buildings on their own campus, seperated by landscaping and sharing a roadway that empties onto California Ave. in West Seattle (A rating). Physical security response is provided by Lone Star.
The Horizon building is connected to the rest of the business park via a winding, well landscaped road lined with clonal evergreen oaks with nearly identical, perfect growth patterns. The road then circles around a pond maybe 50m in diameter, which the building itself is situated on. The road here is paved in stone arranged in complex geometric patterns. A large, gorgeous fountain in the middle of the pond shoots water 20m in the air, and adds the soothing roar of falling water. Employees don't drive by here, though. The turnoff to the parking garage is about 100m before the pond.
The parking garage is a no-nonsense, 3-story plasticrete building. The top floor is open to the sky. The bottom floor is all reserved parking for VIPs. It serves only the Horizon building, and is connected to it via covered walkway on the ground. There are staircases on each of the four corners, and an elevator at the corner closest to the covered walkway.
A fenced patio area, shaded by trees, is in the back of the building along the side closest to the parking garage. There's enough space back there to fit a few hundred mingling employees. It has a gate on the outside along the side of the building, and a back door leading into the office. The fenced area is surrounded by concealing shrubs and bushes.

The most likely route a departing employee would take is out a side door in the main entrance in the front of the building, under the covered walkway toward the parking garage, and up the staircase toward their car.

On campus, the parking garage seems like it would have a lot of ambush potential. it would be monitored, of course.

Off-campus, there are two intersections where a car could be intercepted: the Horizon building's road where it connects to the rest of the business park, and the business park's road where it connects to California Ave.

California Avenue is a much busier, high density urban 6-lane road. Here you can find coffee shops, diners, struggling boutiques, and coffin hotels.

High Rise looks around to see if any other cars stopped or if the dog was hit. Stupid animal.

Crap, another gremlin to track down. Why haven't I sold this thing yet?

He continues home concentrating more intently on the road knowing that the collision sensors aren't up is a bit disconcerting. But by the time he pulls into the parking structure and enters his entry code his mind is back on the video. He grabs his gear bag and heads up to the apartment with Alfred. The whole way up he's watching and replaying sections of the video looking for any lighting inconsistancy, any background distortion, any sign that indicates the video was altered.

Inside the spartan apartment he gets comfortable in a chair and switches over to VR. High Rise figures he should contact Fiche before he goes too far and starts repeating work, a very inefficient use of ticks. On second thought, no one likes having their work checked, he decides to just waste a few ticks afterall. He spends a while in hot sim analyzing everything he can think of. When he starts getting tired around three a.m. he shuts it down, has Alfred refuel and go into standby, and tries to get some sleep.

High Rise:

The video consumes you, and you forget all about your near miss and the faulty collision sensors. The ever present rain, coming down in slow, misty sheets, chills you as you walk up to your apartment. Fische's commcode goes unused. You want a crack at this.

Maybe it was the adrenaline rush from your near miss with that damned dog. Something in you clicks, and you really put on your A game. You document distortions, run every check twice, cover every pixel. You're extremely proud of yourself. You even patch Alfred in to watch for a little bit. It's a shame there's no one else to see you at your personal best. At the end of the night, you're absolutely sure the video is genuine. It's a bit of a thrill monitoring a mage at work.

So Fische was right, but who cares about him. You were probably twice as thorough.

You go to bed extremely pleased with yourself, and fall asleep immediately. In your dreams, you're driving down a windy, rain slicked road at night, throttle wide open, chasing a very panicked dog. You're laughing.

Malleus' appartment Seattle, Sunday March 9. 15:00.

After returning from shopping with Orion, Malleus settles down in his easy chair and logs onto the matrix. He goes to log onto "Google version 27.8"

<<Error... Your subscription to Google has expired Feburary 28th, you previously had our Premium package. Do you wish to renew? Renewal fee is 300¥.>>

Frag it all! I let my subscription slide... Now I'm gonna have to redo my bookmarks.

<<"Accept">>

<<Welcome to Google! Please enter search information>>

<<Search entire matrix: "Emergent Cryonics">>

<<Search Seattle matrix: "Emergent Cryonics" + Malcolm Jackson>>

<<Search Seattle matrix: "Emergent Cryonics" + Jessie Reynolds>>

<<Search entire matrix: "Emergent Cryonics" + Mages>>

<<Search entire matrix: "Emergent Cryonics" + "Sons of Apollo>>

<<Search entire matrix: "Emergent Cryonics" + Aztechnology>>


Malleus leans back in his chair as he watches the trails of VR OOOO's bouncing across his field of vision searching for the data he requested. He sends anything he finds out in a mass email to the rest of the team after Google finishes compiling it for him. He uses his Transys for the actual searching but mails it to his Sony before sending it on to the team from there.

Sunday, March 9. 18:00, Genbu's apartment

Orion walks into the room in his brand new suit.

"What do you think? Flash, neh? After this run I'll wear it when we go to Dantes. Just need some nice accesories so that I don't look like real 'suit' and the chicks will fall all over me."

"It's really nice!" Genbu says. He's a japanese human male of Orion's age, with slick, short black hair and wearing a wrinkled shirt and a pair of orange pants. He's currently lying in a sofa, looking at Orion standing in the middle of his apartment.

"This run, you're not running against friends of mine are you?"
"No Genbu, you know I'd tell you if that was the case. We're just going to flush out an unlicensed mage."
"Tell me more!"
"Can't now, but I'll tell you all about it afterwards when you take me to Dante's."
"Hehehe, deal! Hey, you want to go somewhere tonight? I have these new pills you got to try!"
"Y... Sorry Genbu, can't. Got to stay sharp tomorrow morning."
"Bah, you're all business when it comes to these Sons business. Loosen up!"
"You know I can't..."
"I know. Oh well, you look great in that suit. Now get back in your regular clothes and have some sake."
"Sure Gen!"

Sunday, March 9. 15:00
Malleus:

Search Results:

Emergent Cryonics: You learn all the basic information on the company, email addresses of important contact points within the company (HR, Accounts, IT, PR), stock history, market analyses, reported profits, etc.

Emergent Cryonics and Malcolm Jackson: You get Malcolm's office number, private commcode, home address, and job title: Associate Design Engineer.

Emergent Cryonics and Jessie Reynolds: You get Jessie's office number, private commcode, home address, job title: Engineering Development Manager, and learn that his name is one of 12 appearing in a device patent filed by Emergent Cryonics seven years ago.

Emergent Cryonics and Mages: You find documentation on EC's compliance with magician registration in its hiring practices. Deep, deep digging reveals the company fired all of its awakened employees when the Registration Act passed and the company will under no circumstances knowingly hire one.

Emergent Cryonics and Sons of Apollo: No relevent information is available on this topic.

Emergent Cryonics and Aztechnology: You find industry speculation on the likelihood of an Aztechnology purchase of EC and what it would mean for both companies. Aztechnology is silent on the matter but there's enough buzz in the appropriate circles to indicate they must at least have more than a passing interest.

Monday, March 10, 05:30. Soy n' Go, California Ave., West Seattle.

It ain't raining, but the fog is so thick it feels like rain suspended in air. Man wasn't meant to thrive in this place. How did such a sprawling metropolis come into existence under such depressing circumstances? Everything is wet and freezing. Your clothes are wet, your hair is wet, your gear is wet. The streets are wet. The door to this diner is wet. The seats are damp, the table's damp, your soykaf. . .

well, it tastes like water.

It's over an hour before sunrise (HAH! sunrise. . . ) and the commuters are just gearing up to jam the I-5. You beat the traffic, and are rewarded with the prime booth in the diner. The diner walls, 360 degrees of pexiglass, offer a stunning panorma of fog. You can see 5 meters clear enough, but what lies at 6? It's a mystery. You ponder this while waiting for your breakfast.

After a boring sunday that consisted of tweaking some of Alfred's word definitions and the feeling that he had forgotten something High Rise is eager to get on the job. The first one to the dinner and the first one to be disappointed by their kaf he seems more energetic than he did 34 hours ago.

"What'll you have sir." The waitress asks. "Just the soykaf please."

Malleus arrives shortly after High Rise. He settles into the cheap sythleather booth, looking out of place in his immaculately tailored Acctioneer Buisness suit and long rainslicker which he hangs . He sets a small briefcase on the table beside the window and nods when the waitress offers to fill his coffee cup. He orders a small breakfast of eggs bacon and toast.

"Morning, glad to see that everyone is starting to arrive. How'd the weekend treat you?"

Orion is third to arrive, eagerly greeting High Rise and Malleus when he finds them sitting at a table close to the entrance. He looks around for a towel or something but finds none, and hangs up his coat. He's wearing his new suit underneath and it actually fits him very well.

"Man, you should have seen the looks I got on the bus! Some idiots actually tried to mug me too, thought I was lost... oh well how are you? Good good, do they serve something edible here? I'm starving."

The waitress comes by and Orion orders a small soy breakfast.

Null arrives moments after Orion does, wearing a dull grey raincoat over an LA-style suit that is a bit less rumpled than usual for him. He is avidly going over a sheet of flexi-plastic in his hand, muttering slightly to himself, as he goes over his notes again. He smiles hesitantly at the others, then flinches slightly as the waitress steps into his personal space to take his order.

"I will have... the soykaf. Yes, the soykaf."

He stares unblinkingly at the others as he sips from a straw in a bottle in the top pocket of his raincoat... it looks, from what you can see of it, to be some kind of protein shake. As he sets the plastic sheet down, you see that it is a sheet of electronic paper, with an annotated building map and several moveable icons currently displayed on it. Despite his steady gaze, he doesn't seem impatient, more like waiting. In fact, you get the impression that if you all left and came back 20 minutes later, he would still be sitting there staring blankly at the wall.

Your food arrives, along with the bill. The waitress looks a bit long at Null. She senses he's a bit "off", and leaves you four alone for the rest of your visit.

"Well, my weekend was productive. The video is definitely genuine. If someone were trying to set a coworker up they're going through enough trouble to actually make paper float and make drawers move. It wouldn't be that hard to do, but most people would just play movie maker." He waits a moment and remembers something, "Oh, miss, could I get a large..." He checks the AR menu for the abusurd name they've given a simple 5 shot, vanilla, mocha, hot, no foam latte. "monday, thanks." Turning back to his coworkers, "If you can't stand the artificial coffee, cover it up with artificial sugar."

"So we're dealing with an unlicensed mage that steals from his coworkers? And if that thing picked out of the box is what I think it is, it fits well with the delay. He steals the inhaler, uses it, and then puts it back. Maybe he was just bored or needed the boost to stay alert."

While saying this Orion produces a small inhaler that could be the object taken from the box in the video and passes it around.

"That one is empty but I brought it along so you could all have a look at it. Wait, his DNA might still be on that thing! Frag, should have thought of that earlier. First thing we do, before employees arrive, is to try and get that thing and the box.

Null, have you thought of a good place to bring him into our care? I see you have a tactical map there."

Null's head bobs eagerly.

"Yes, yes. I did a lot of research, then I went there myself. Very nice business park, much greenery. But the best spot to take down the mage would be here, or here, or here, in the parking garage. Very nice ambush site, yes, although we must be careful, must look out for cameras and suchlike."

Null moves an icon representing the mage to several spots, then moves icons representing the team to surround it. Occasionally he will overzealously move the surrounding icons, hitting the first icon with them and causing it to emit an indignant-sounding electronic beep.

"Also, there are places where we could intercept a car, either here, where the road to the Horizon building begins, or here, where you exit the business park to California Avenue. But California Avenue is busy, busy, so we must be circumspect if we choose that site."

After his spiel, he looks up expectantly at the others. He has provided information, and now they will be able to come up with a plan. He will give them his own opinions, but whether or not he agrees with the final plan is irrelevant. What is more important is that when they have a plan, he will be given directions to follow.